Microsoft Should Abandon the Consumer Market

Discuss this Article 15

Well Paul, I only agree with you partly. What I think is that Microsoft should by a hardware company like..uhm.. DELL!! hardware vendors sell hardware, not OSes. All MS partners already proofed that they don't give a hoot about MS... HP has WebOS, Acer, Samsung, HTC etc are all Android
DELL hasn't make up their mind yet. So Microsoft might as well could buy them and in doing so have a better foothold in the consumer space to develop PCs, Servers, Phones and Pads, since Dell already produces all of the above.

WHAT!!!! I am a consumer like all other people who buy things and I buy Microsoft products. Microsoft has the lead in both the business and consumer markets in general. It has more competition in the consumer market so its lead is not as great as it is in the business market where it is commanding. Does that mean it should leave the consumer market; so the other companies mainly Apple could finally say they own something other than cell phones and music players.
I do play games, listen to music and watch movies on laptops and desktops all running Windows OSs.

This was inevitable; some people (including Microsoft) thought they will remain on top for decade (this is what Capitalism is about: competition; you gain more revenue with better products. Apple & Android are doing better because they have better products that appeal to the consumers. Simple) They just need to follow the trend (is like fashion: people will buy whatever is popular). Apple, Linux & Google|Android are doing just that (even though some of the products are not very good or can be improved). Microsoft needs a MAJOR restructure.
I am surprised this is coming from Paul. T (lifetime supporter of Microsoft), but hes right, Microsoft probably needs to focus on his #1 customers: Government, Corporations and Gamers (Xbox users).

I sincerely hope that Microsoft does not abandon the consumer market; even if only to provide an option to the Apple/Google duopoly. These two companies have shown an extreme tendency towards dictatorial and/or invasive policies. (See the recent meeting of Microsoft with the ChevronWP7 hackers; now try to imagine Apple doing that with the Cydia people.) Without the presence of Microsoft as a check, this will become even more so. I don't want Google to be my only choice for a search engine; I don't want the iPhone to be my only choice for a smartphone; likewise for tablets, media streamers, cloud computing, etc., etc. Only Microsoft has the resources to make available alternative options in these areas; even if they are not profitable.
Abandoning the consumer market may be the best financial decision for Microsoft to make; but it would probably be the worst move ever for the consumers themselves and the tech/computing scene in general.

I don't think this is the right strategy. Microsoft is lost in the past decade to Apple and Google. But this is not an unwinnable game. The problem is at the top. Look back at Apple's situation when Steve Job was coming back. Much worse than Microsoft now. Steve Ballmer almost fired everyone reported to him. But he is the problem. He is a good marketing guy, but he has no vision for the company. How can a clueless CEO lead a company to success when everyone else in the game is so competitve? Consumer market is not small, look how big Apple is now. Without consumer market Microsoft could lose the Business market next. Microsoft should act while it still has the resource to make this fight. Otherwise it could be too late in several years. Get rid of Ballmer and stop hiring IBM people because they are what IBM is. Get some young blood into Microsoft to shake thing up.

Consumers and business employees are the very same human beings. I don't think you can abandon the consumer half of a guy without having its business half to grow interest in your competitors' consumer technology. Everyone had a mac at home, business will have had too. I'd rather like to see Microsoft invests more into (ok, and support more) cool consumers products - read WP7 - for they are good market entry points for biz products too. Businesses are more likely to deploy and buy technologies its users are already familiar with.

Pricing Pricing Pricing.. How many people are ready to pay USD 450.00 for office or almost USD 250.00 for the top of the range operating system. Come one Consumers want value for money and Microsoft does not seem to care about that concept. Today the IPhone offers 10000X more than what Microsoft offers on their phone but most of the windows mobile manufacturers still price it at par with the IPhone and even more. Where is the logic in that.. I hate to see the company being kicked but it is their own choice. They can change and regain back their position by simply selling their office for about USD 60.00 and their Windows for less than USD 50.00.. then they will see the consumers run back to them and even business. Linux Star office are all free.. MS should also give Windows Mobile free and make money from the AppStore. This type of action is way over due and they need to move today to try to win consumer and companies. Companies are not going to hang around either if they get a taste of something else.

I am not sure if Microsoft would ever take this course of action but I do agree it would be a good thing. With each new version of windows more and more consumer features are added that only polute an enterprise desk pc and then we are forced to worry about how to deal with them.

I agree with this suggestion. Microsoft makes no money on anything but Office and desktop Windows and loses focus by this continuing impulse to get into new markets where they have no expertise and no real interest. Steve Jobs has notably stated that one component in making GREAT products is to decline all the ones that are merely good. I don't personally consider Office or Windows GREAT, but the business market does.

The other point is that all these pointless forays into everything-that-comes-along are only possible because the cash cows Windows and Office subsidy everything else. That means the endeavors don't have to succeed on merit, so they just kind of limp along, lamely. They can afford to be stupid for a long time before they finally, mercifully, die.

If the other activities were standalone, they would have to get better or they would not exist. Splitting those things off would raise the quality of all the products, simply by killing the worst ones.

This must be a proclamation that Paul Thurrott really hates his new Windows Phone. Microsoft already has started the "can't beat them might as well join them" stance in its Exchange 2010 product by making it browser compatiable outside of IE for all features. The US govt tried to break up Microsoft 10+ years ago, we know how that turned out but what if they would have succeeded?

Well Paul, I only agree with you partly. What I think is that Microsoft should by a hardware company like..uhm.. DELL!! hardware vendors sell hardware, not OSes. All MS partners already proofed that they don't give a hoot about MS... HP has WebOS, Acer, Samsung, HTC etc are all Android
DELL hasn't make up their mind yet. So Microsoft might as well could buy them and in doing so have a better foothold in the consumer space to develop PCs, Servers, Phones and Pads, since Dell already produces all of the above.

2. With the exception of Gates, the rest of the board needs to resign.

3. Trimdown Microsoft. Too big, too many competing teams. The best & most successful keep their jobs. The rest get pink slips. Streamlined management & a simple clearcut chain of command. I'd say cut Microsoft down in half. Have products compete internally but not to the detriment of the company. The better product wins & best features of the losing product get integrated into the winner.

5. Redo IE again. IE 9 doesn't go far enough. The Trident rendering engine highly insecure. Microsoft should abandon it and get web-kit as the rendering engine. Rebuild it on a highly secure platform & integrate as much sandboxing as possible.

6. Competition, Competition, Competition. - Bring Office to Linux/Android/iOS, the new secure IE to all other platforms, open up Zune to other platforms such as Android, iPhone, Linux, & Mac. Microsoft software & services competes against others aggressively by being available as an alternative.

7. Tablet specific OS. Windows as a desktop OS cannot be cookie cuttered into a tablet. Port Windows Phone as a tablet OS, fast iterations with at least one update per quarter.